WINDOW ROCK, Ariz.—Navajo Nation Vice President Rex Lee Jim signed a modified business site lease agreement, which will enable Raytheon Diné Facility to build a 30,000-square-foot warehouse that will bring 100 construction jobs, five new jobs and retain 45 jobs at the facility located at the Navajo Agricultural Products Industrial park in northwestern New Mexico. The warehouse will be used for the storage and transition of Raytheon products.

“The Shelly-Jim administration negotiated with Raytheon to produce this new facility that will create new good jobs for Navajo. Many of our people serve in the armed forces and take pride in protecting the United States. The missile and munitions parts the facility produces goes to help in that effort,” Vice President Jim said.

Raytheon Facility plant manager Matt Ryan said Raytheon looks forward to hiring Navajo citizens for all of the support services at the facility. “We’re also looking to invest in Navajo Technical University to create programs that will advance technical skills and training for its students. This in turn will further the defense of our Nation,” he added.

Through negotiations made between the Navajo Nation and the State of New Mexico’s Capital Outlay Fund, $200,000 was awarded to Raytheon’s Diné Facility and will go toward architecture and engineering. The Navajo Nation secured another $3.3 million through its Business Industrial Development Fund that will go toward facility construction.

Over 90 percent of the 285 employees at the facility are Navajo. Of the 12 Raytheon facilities, the Diné Facility has been instrumental in increased production workloads and the need for a new warehouse to store its finished products is crucial for continued operations.

“I’ve been with the company for 8 years and I have seen first hand the progress and expansion to bring more programs to the company. The majority of the employees are Diné, who have an incredible work ethic. Navajo Nation employees have solved our production problems of delivering our products on time,” said Raytheon employee Benjamin Begay of Farmington, N.M.